Dear Santa(3)

“When the lease on Celeste’s and my apartment was close to being up,” Lindy said, after several pain-filled moments, “we knew it was time for us each to get our own place.”

Lindy’s heart actually hurt as she relayed the events of the summer.

“Celeste was working in Edmonds. That meant she had nearly an hour commute through the heavy Seattle traffic. It made sense for her to look for an apartment closer to her job. Apartments in Seattle are at a premium, but I found one pretty easily.” It was in an older complex, and a friend who was moving had told her about it. Lindy quickly snapped it up. “Celeste wasn’t so lucky. It took us weeks to find a place she could afford. She saw one she liked that was out of her price range and went for it. I figured she was better at budgeting than I realized.”

    Her mother continued to listen, not asking a lot of questions, which Lindy appreciated.

“We made plans to move, vowing to stay in touch no matter what.” They’d been roommates and best friends since their college days, and had met during their freshman year. It would be the first time they’d lived apart since they were eighteen.

In retrospect, Lindy should have known something was wrong.

“Celeste signed a lease on an apartment she couldn’t afford?”

Lindy nodded, avoiding eye contact.

“How did she manage that?”

“She got a roommate,” Lindy said.

“For a one-bedroom unit?”

Lindy glanced up. “She’d met a guy.”

“I didn’t know Celeste was in a serious relationship.”

“I didn’t, either.” That was the crux of it. Lindy had been oblivious to what was happening between her best friend and Brian.

Her mother frowned. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Her roommate is Brian. The two of them had been going apartment hunting behind my back for weeks. I was stupidly blind, trusting them both.”

    “No!” Her mother gasped. “Brian moved in with Celeste?”

Even though she’d learned the truth months ago, a sick feeling churned in Lindy’s stomach.

“Well, that weasel.”

“That’s not the worst of it. Earlier, when Celeste and I decided it was time for us to find our own spaces, Brian had suggested the two of us move in together. I turned him down. I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment. Then, all of a sudden, he called and canceled several dates we’d made. I thought it was his passive-aggressive way of getting back at me for refusing to share the apartment.”

“He’s a jerk, Lindy. A real jerk.”

Her mother’s words were tame compared to how Lindy thought of her ex-boyfriend’s actions. “Shortly after we moved out of the apartment, I stopped off to see about helping Celeste unpack. I hadn’t heard from her since the move and knew she was working long hours and could probably use the help. I’d sent her a couple of text messages that she hadn’t responded to, and I was concerned. Imagine my surprise when I arrived and Brian answered the door.”

“Oh, Lindy, I’m so sorry.”

Lindy had no intention of discounting the betrayal she’d felt in that moment. It was bad enough that Brian had cheated on her with Celeste, but for her best friend to go behind her back this way was even worse.

    Heartache from a broken romance was something she’d experienced before. Johnny Bemis had broken her heart when she was in high school. Her friends had rallied around her, and she’d gotten over him quickly.

This was different. To lose her best friend, her confidant, the one person in Seattle who supported and believed in her, was a double hit. She missed Celeste’s company far more than she did Brian’s. Even now, it was hard to believe Celeste would betray and deceive her this way. So much for the friends’ code of honor.

“It stinks,” Lindy said. “The thing is, Mom, I’m a complete romantic failure.” Saying it aloud made it seem all the more real.

“Don’t say that.”

“How can I not? Mardelle and Nate are engaged and have already adopted a dog they named Oscar. She asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding this summer. And Mardelle isn’t the only one of my college friends who is in a committed relationship.”

“I know what Celeste and Brian did hurts.”

“No kidding.” She hadn’t meant to blurt out all this drama the instant she walked in the front door. Lindy had hoped to put all this behind her and enjoy the holidays with her family. The less she thought about Brian and Celeste, the better all around.

    “I’m sorry you had to go through this.” Her mother’s gentle sympathy helped ease the ache in her heart.

“Thank you, Mom. While my head knows that, my heart is having a hard time accepting it.”

“I can understand that.”

Her mother was right. Still, Lindy found it hard to believe. “It’s my own fault. I made the mistake of checking Celeste’s page on Facebook last night, and while I was spending my weekends alone, the two of them were skiing on White Pass and attending a Seahawks football game. What hurts most is those are the very activities Brian and I did last winter. I’m such a loser.”

“You most certainly aren’t a loser, Lindy Rose Carmichael.”